This course examines the emergence of sci-fi films from cheaper and sensational B genre productions into ambitious and costly A genre films raising serious social and cultural questions. As imagined utopian or dystopian spaces, sci-fi films address contemporary issues of technology, standardization, authoritarian rule, invasion of privacy and surveillance. From within worlds of seemingly sanitized order, sci-fi films focus on troubling questions of health and immunology, genetics, eugenics, race, class, and gender. On a conceptual level, sci-fi films challenge perceptual notions of space and time and erase the difference between simulation and reality in their imagined cyber worlds. We will explore the relation of future oriented cinematic worlds to the cultural present in which they are screened. Classic sci-fi films (2001: A Space Odyssey) will be examined along with more recent films (Children of Men). Particular attention will be paid to the variety of genres invoked by sci-fi films ranging from horror (Alien), to mystery (Ex-Machina) epic superhero (The Matrix) noir (Blade Runner), and recent TV series (Stranger Things).  Close analysis will involve cinematography and the function of soundtrack in the construction of utopian/dystopian space. No prerequisites. Course requires use of Canvas.